Aerial toy



Feb. 13, 1940. scHlMPFLE AERIAL TOY Filed sept. 21, 1959 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. l13,y 1940l 2,189,763* i AERIAL T oY .L l Frank senimpna Gamma-N. J. I Appnationseptemiier .2 1, ms', semina-295,871,

chime-"(01. 1e-fc4) i This Iinvention relates to improvements/in 'aerif al` toysr of 'the type ,in which apropeller` element is. projected intothe air for a, limited sustained flieht fr W' One ofthe several. features of; the, invention residesin an aerial toy: in vwhich the propeller projecting device consists of a spring Wound gun which resembles a revolver in appearance, but

which is extremelysaie, in that it vmust be pointed upwardly toactuate when it is desired to impart l an impeilingforce to the propeller, thus prevent'- ing the'propeller from being-aimed.at-bystanders'. Another featureof the invention is to provide an aerial toy in vwhichthe projecting device is capable of projecting a whirling propeller rela-` tively Ihigh into the air, and which, willrernain aloft until the whirling energytof the propeller.

' lis spent, after which -itgently falls to the ground inthe fashion ,cfa leafl sc that no personal or v property injury'is likely t o ,occur. 1-

'A` furtherv feature of. the inventioniis the' prov-Jl `vision o--*alspring-Wound aerial toy which is easy .l

to wind, and which issecurely held in a cockedg position until al definite pullr is exerted `upon the releasing triggertofprevent the aerial toy from being accidentally operated.

A stillfurther objectof the invention is to profvide `an vaerial toyembodying` the above meng tioned'features which isv simple and inexpensive of entertaining to .Figure 3, is a horizontal sectional view onthef linef-Sof Figure 2.

Figure `4.- is a horizontal sectional view on thel line iw-dof `Figure 2.'

Figure 5 is a detail perspective view of the Vouter :propellingend'ofv the -gun and an aerial propeller,

rnei'nherillustrated in separatedrelation.

vReferring to the drawing by reference jector device A,and a propeller yelement 2B.y 'Ihe projector device A resembles agun or a revolver,v

and includes a hand grip member or stock lIl.

which may be made of wood, or o-any molded composition. The handtgrip member yH has one ci its endsprovided with ag substantiallylsemrf.

fWili .appeariaerialI @moet ters, the numeral idesignatesmy improved aeri; Aal toy in its entirety which broadly includes a procular shapedrecess I2, and the fhandgrip member is providedwith al slot I3 which extendsv inwarkdlyifrom the recess l2, andtherecess and the slot definenr pair of resilient `furcations or jaws M-M.- Seated in Athe recess l2 is the .enlarged end of ay tubular casing or barrel al 5, and the said casinggor barrel lis held or gripped bythe jaws |4-I4 whichare. brought togetherby ajscrew I6 which' passes transverselyl throughthe hand grip y at the slotted'A portion thereof, ythe `screw entering'one side of thehand grip andbeing threadedly, connected toan internally screw threaded 4sleeve Il `co1.1ntersunk in the other side of the hand grip. Aflfy tightening the-screw it, Vthe urcations or jawsl M-Id will be brought into Ytigh clamping engagement with the ybarre1. l5

The barrel ll 5 includes an enlarge'dinner tubu- 4 lar section i8 anda reduced outertubular section 1 I9, the sections i8 and -I9 telescopingy leach other and being fixedly connected together-by a tight.

friction 'fit,j.or by anyother` suitable means. Threadedl into the outer end of the casing section I8 isa plug cap I20 having a central opening 2l therein.' The outer end of thecasing .section i8 is provided with alslot 22, thesaidslotextending' inwardly from Atheouter open yend of, the section I8. The, outerfend of the section yi9 is provided with a plug cap22/,thesame beingrigidly fitted intothe casing sectionx i9 so astobe fixed therein.v The plugcap 22' isprovidedwitha central opening 23-disposed kin axial valinerhent with respect toftheopening 2l. rExtending through the f v openings -2I and 23 is a shaft 2li; the inner end of the shaft extendingy beyond thel plug cap 26 andbeing screw threaded as at 25." The cuter end of the shaft24 projects beyond the plug 'cap 22 and'is provided witha screw threaded portioni.

The shaft `2t beyond the screw threaded. portion 26 is reducedfin 'diameter 'to provide Ia reduced extension'Z. Disposed :.within'the casing iv and surroundingthe. shaftd'is- 'a coils'pring 2B, the

' outer end of vwhichis xedlyconnected to the shaft l"fritas at 28, while the opposite end of the v colil spring't'ermina'tes in a straight extension piece `30 which passes 4i'lhro'fugh they slotv 22 in the casing Section I It A will thus `be understood that one* rend of the'spring'lZ'is iixeclt'o the shaft iwhile the opposite end is connected for sliding rnove- .mentl relative tothe casing section-i8 by reason of the'extension piece 3l] passingthrough the .slot 22., The yextension piece 3B abuts the inner end of the rslot 22 when the spring 25 isffully unwound, and slides outwardly as the spring is' wound, the

outward sliding movement being vcaused by the of the end wall 32 for securely fastening the,

ratchet wheel 3| to the shaft 24 so that the wheel and the shaft turn as a unit. f

The opposed side walls of the slot |3 are pro-` vided with oppositely disposed semi-circular shaped recesses 36, which recessesy parallelthe recess I2, and provide bearing seats for a slidalolel ratchet pin 31. The pin 31 extends beyondfne side of the hand grip in alinement with the .cir-

cumferential plane of the ratchet teeth 34 'so that the reduced outer end of the pin 31 which is designated 38, rides against the inner side of the disk wall 32 and operatively engages the ratchr et teeth 34 as the wheel 3| is rotated. A compression coil spring 39 has one of its ends seated against the hand grip member and the other end against a shoulder 40 formed on the ratchet pin inwardly of the reduced end 38, the said spring encircling -a portion of the ratchet pin 31 for the purpose of normally urging the reduced end 38 of the ratchet pin against the inner side of the disk wall 32. The inner end of the ratchet pin 31 is provided with a notch 4|, and seated in the notch 4| is the nose 42 of a trigger 43, the said trigger having a finger piece portion 44 extending beyond the hand grip member The trigger 43 is disposed in the slot I3 and is pivotally mounted therein by a pivot pin 45. A trigger guard 46 protects the finger piece 44 and consists of a strap of metal bent into substantially U- shape, one end terminating in an ear 41 which fits against the hand grip and is secured by a screw 48. The opposite end of the trigger guard terminates in an inwardly extending ear 49fwhich l ts between the barrel l5 and the wall of the recess formed in the Wall of the recess |2. In view of the fact that the wheel 3| is turned in a clockwise direction to effect winding of the spring 38, the screw threaded portion 26 is formed by left hand threads, and threadedly yreceives a projector member 50. The projector member 50 includes a flat disk base 5| having a threaded central aperture 52 which threadedly engages the threads and extending outwardly at rightangle to the flat base 5| are cam lugs 53-53, the

same being disposed in a diametric relation. Each cam lug 53 includes a gradually rising cam surface 54 and a shoulder 55 at the high end' thereof. The projector element 50 turns with the shaft 24 and in view of the fact. that the shaft rotates in a counter-clockwise direction during unwinding of the spring and that left hand threads are provided for securing the element 50 to the shaft, there is no likelihood of the projector element becoming unscrewed from the shaft during a projecting operation.

The propeller element B is constructed of a single length of metal and includes a dome shaped hub 56 having a central aperture 51 therein, of a size to t the reduce-d extension 21 of the shaft 24. Extending from the hub portion 56 are opposed blades 58-58, the blades being of the same pitch but canted in reverse directions. 'I'he tip ends of the blade terminate in downwardly extending fianges 59 to eliminate the danger ofl w34 of the ratchet pin 31 engaging one of the ratchet teeth 34. Assuming now that the spring has been sufl'iciently wound, the operator may Inow grasp the projector device A in the manner shown in Figure l, and proceeds to place the pro- Vpeller element B on the projector element 5D by 4insertingthe outer reduced end 21 of the shaft l24 through the opening 51.

The concave side of the dome shaped hub 56 acts to guide the portion 21of vthe shaft totheopening 51, to expedite the positioning` of the propeller element B upon the projector element 58. The blades 58 of the propeller element B extend at right angle to the opposed relation of the cam lugs 53, and the propeller element is locked against rotation in a`clock-Wise direction by reason of the engagement of opposite sides of the propeller element with the stop shoulders 55, With the aerial device in the position shown in Figure 1, the operator may now place his finger on the trigger piece 44 and depress it, causing the trigger 43 to be actuated whereby the nose 42 moves the ratchet pin 31 inwardly against the action of the spring 39 and accordingly disengages the reduced end 3'4 of the ratchet pin from the path of the ratchet teeth 34. Withl the ratchet wheel released, the Wound spring 28 imparts rapid rotation to the shaft 24 and the propeller element B is cammed offy the propeller element 50 by the rotating cam surfaces 54. It is the initial force or impulse which is imparted to the propeller element B by the cam surfaces 54 that projects and propels the element-B upwardly into the air. As the propeller element B slides off the extension 21 of the shaft 24, it proceeds to climb and continues to rotate until the force is spent. When the force imparted to the propeller element B becomes spent, the same drops to the" ground in the manner of a leaf and may be retrieved bythe operator and reused. It will be understoodthat the altitude reached by the propeller element B is dependent upon the energy stored up by the spring, and the lightness and pitch of the propeller element B. In order to obtain the maximum altitude, the projector device A should be held with the outer end of the barrel facing up as illustrated in Figure 1, although the propeller member might be projected at an angle of approximately 45, but it is impossible to project the same horizontally for any appreciable distance which might cause injury to a bystander, for the reason that the cam surfaces 54 are insuicient to impart any great' amount of projecting force to the propeller element when the projector is so held.

"While I have shown and described what I consider to be the most practical embodiment of my invention, I wish ittobe understood that such changes in construction and design as come within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to if desired. l

Having thus described the invention, what I claim 'as new and desire to secure by Letter Patent of the United States, is:l l Y 1. An aerial toy comprising in combination, a tubular casing, a shaft journaled at opposite ends of said casing and extending therebeyond, a coil spring having one of yits ends fixed to said shaft audits other end freely connected to said casing, v

a hand operated ratchet wheel xed to the inner end of said shaft having ratchet teeth on the inner side thereof, a slidable spring actuated ratchet pin having one of its ends normally engaging a tooth of said ratchet wheel to prevent rotation of said shaft when placed under tension of' said spring by the manual turning of said ratchet Wheel in one direction, trigger means operable for disengaging said ratchet pin from engagement with the tooth of said ratchet wheel, a projector element iixedly attached to the outer end of said shaft including a pair of outwardly c said casing, a hand operated ratchet Wheel fixed to the inner end of said shaft having ratchetteeth on the inner side thereof, a ratchet pin slidably mounted in said hand grip member and disposed parallel to the axis of said shaft, spring means acting to normally hold the` outer end of said ratchet pin in operative engagement with a tooth of said ratchet Wheel to prevent rotation of said shaft When placed under tension by said spring upon rotation of said ratchet Wheel in one .direction, a notch provided adjacent the inner end of said ratchet pin, a trigger member pivotally mounted on said hand grip member having a linger piece extending forwardly beyond said hand grip member and a nose portion extending into said notch, a projector cam element fixed to the manual actuation of said trigger member to effect disengagement of the ratchet pin from .the tooth of said ratchet Wheel.

3. An aerial toyvincluding a cylindrical casing,

a rotatable shaft journaled in the ends of said casing and extending therebeycnd, releasablel ratchet means` connected to the inner end of said shaft, a coil spring surrounding said shaft and enclosed Within said casing, said coil spring having one of its ends fixed to said shaft and its other end slidably connected to said casing, said shaft adapted to be placed under the tension of said spring upon rotation of said shaft in one direction,

a projector element fixed to the outer end of said shaft, said projector element including a pair of diametrically opposed outwardly extending cam surfaces, a propeller member having a dome shaped hub portion provided with a central aperture, said propeller member being seated on said projector element between said cam surfaceswith the end of the shaft passing'through the aperture in the hub portion thereofgwhereby the release of the releasable ratchet means when said spring is under tension will cause said shaft to rotate and said cam surfaces to impart rotation to said propeller member and cam the same free of the end of the shaft and project the propeller member into aerial flight. f

4. Agun type projector device for rotatably` projecting a propeller into aerial flight comprising a l solid hand grip having a recess 'extending across one end thereof and a slot extending inwardly from said recess and defining a pair of yieldable furcations, a cylindrical casing having an intermediate portion thereof seated in said recess, screw means passing through the furcations for causing the furcations to clampingly engage said cylindrical casing, a shaft journaled for rotation in the ends of said casing and projecting therebeyond, a hand Wheel fixedly mounted at the inner end of said shaft, a windable coil spring surrounding said shaft Within said casing having one of its ends i'lxed tofsaid shaft and its other end connected to said casing, ratchet teeth provided on the inner side of said hand Wheel, a ratchet pin slidably mounted in said hand grip and disposed parallel to said cylindrical casing, spring means acting to hold one end of said ratchet pin in the path of turning movement of the ratchet teeth, trigger means mounted in said hand grip and manually operable for moving said ratchet pin out of the path of said ratchet teeth, and propeller projector means iixedly mounted on the outer end of said shaft.

5. A gun type projector device for rotatably projecting a propeller into aerial flight comprising a solid hand grip having `a recess extending across one end thereof and a slot extending inwardly from saidrecess and defining a pair of yieldable furcations, a cylindrical casing having an intermediate portion thereof seated in said recess, screw means passing through the furcations for causing the furcations to clampingly engage said cylindrical casing, a shaft journaled and disposed parallel to said cylindrical casing, y

spring means acting to hold one end of said ratchet pin in the vpath of turning movement of the ratchet teeth, a pivot pin bridging said slotl and mounted in said furcatio'ns, a trigger member pivotally mounted on said pivot pin having a finger piece extending forwardly beyond the hand grip member-and a nose portion extending into a'notch provided in said ratchet pin, whereby FRANK SCHIMPFLE. 

